Four Men to Stand Trial for Accusing French First Lady of Being ‘A Paedophile’

Four men are set to appear in a Paris court next year facing charges of online harassment against French First Lady Brigitte Macron, including accusations of likening her to a “paedophile.”

It’s important to note that for years, disinformation regarding Macron’s gender has spread on social media, and she has also been criticized for the 24-year age gap between her and President Emmanuel Macron.

In August, Brigitte Macron filed a complaint, prompting authorities to launch an investigation into cyberharassment and incitement to commit an offense, according to the public prosecutor.

A hearing in July next year will concern “malicious comments about Brigitte Macron’s gender and sexuality, as well as her age difference with her husband… likening her to a paedophile,” prosecutors said.

A trial is set for the end of October.

The relationship between President Emmanuel Macron, 46, and his wife, Brigitte, 71, who first met when she was a teacher and he was a teenager, has been the subject of significant media attention both in France and internationally.

Among the accused is Aurelien Poirson-Atlan, born in 1984, a publicist known on social media as “Zoe Sagan,” who is often associated with conspiracy theory circles.

Poirson-Atlan’s lawyer, Juan Branco, has condemned the charges, accusing the public prosecutor of taking an “obvious political direction.”

Among the false information spread on social media were claims that Brigitte Macron, formerly Brigitte Trogneux, had never existed and that her brother, Jean-Michel, had changed gender and assumed her identity.

In September, a French court ordered two women to pay €8,000 ($8,400) in damages to Macron after they falsely claimed she was transgender, which led to online rumors fueled by conspiracy theorists and the far right.